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Dear Select Board and Editor,
I attended the March 26, 2024 Select Board meeting and was encouraged by the Board’s unified response to any threats of violence against our public spaces and events, and by its reorganization. I didn’t stay for the discussion of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding my Select Board resignation, but I read about it in The Reading Post, the March 28 edition of which includes Select Board Member Herrick’s reaction to an investigation as follows:
“There needs to be clear evidence that something went wrong beyond someone’s personal opinion that they have had enough.”[italics added]
Any suggestion that my experience was just my “personal opinion” and that I resigned because I “had enough” is false. Select Board Member Herrick seems to be knowledgeable about the facts leading to my resignation, leading to her conclusion that I “had enough.” I don’t understand how she would know this because Herrick and I have not spoken since January.
I felt a strong sense of purpose during my time on the Select Board. Working with residents, staff and volunteers was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Until February 5, 2024, I was committed to serving out my term and working on our town’s issues and projects. As I stated on February 6, resigning from the Select Board was an extremely difficult decision for me. Something “went wrong,” but Select Board members’ claims regarding what happened have been inaccurate or just plain false.
While an investigation won’t change the past, I am weighing my participation in a properly scoped investigation that I feel is in the best interest of Reading’s residents.
Thank you,
Jackie McCarthy
Beacon Street
